florisdekort

Just found this…

Today is a bonus sea day as our call to Corner Brook (and before that Gaspe) got cancelled due to weather. We’ve been going around in circles in a sheltered area since early last evening. We have decided to just be lazy until 5 pm / cocktail o’clock 😁 Daily program below.

Sakura is indeed amazing. Can’t wait to go back. Day 2 - another 10/10! IMG_3047.mov

We’re currently on board. They don’t provide it for environmental reasons. It’s their filtered still and sparkling water only.

The current list of included/complimentary wine on Explora 1. You can ask for any of these, anywhere.

In case of interest!

We skipped the show as well. Sail away from beautiful Quebec was at 9 pm so we drank Moet in a spa as we sailed down the river. Life is tough.

This was the USDA Prime ribeye. We’re going to try the French filet next time.

Our first dinner was a hit. For those familiar with Seabourn, we love TKG (I appreciate not everyone does) and we felt Marble & Co is its equal if not better. Great menu, delicious food, wonderful service and a super knowledgeable sommelier who sold us the perfect wine. 10/10.

As for “the right person”, the General Manager (what would be the Hotel Director on other cruise lines) introduced himself to us in person within 5 minutes after boarding. Maybe that was pure luck, but we sure won’t have trouble raising an issue (we haven’t had any yet!) on board.

Boarding was smooth. Apparently, the guest count is “closer to 200 than 250”. All crew members we have encountered so far have been super friendly and welcoming. As others have said, this ship is stunning. We’ve spent >1,000 nights at sea, and this is by far the most beautiful vessel we’ve ever been on. There are so many beautiful bars, lounge areas (indoors and outdoors), pools/spas, etc. Wow, just wow. We skipped lunch so I can’t comment on the food yet. The quality and taste of the coffee however is outstanding, much better than Seabourn and Azamara. My only minor annoyance so far: When exercising on the outdoor wrap-around running track, you run past a smokers area, so every lap I got to smell cigarettes. That’s just plain stupid. Anyway, very happy. So far it’s all 10/10.

“Less than 250 passengers” going from Quebec to Miami.

Due to weather. I’ll take the Captain’s word, safety first, although my iPhone disagrees.

Well, that’s a bit last minute. And it’s Corner Brook, not Corner Book 🤣 On the positive side, I’ve never been to Newfoundland.

The 3000+ passenger Caribbean Princess is at the container port Explora was at last time.

Let’s hope it was paying passengers you met 👍🏻 Explora has been very busy re-tweeting tons of influencers on board this past segment. We don’t have luggage tags either, but never had a problem getting them on the pier (on other cruise lines that is) - so I’m sure it will be alright.

Thank you

Well dear Mrs zcq jgtwwt - at least they got your gender right 🤣 We just received a letter in our hotel room from Explora addressed to Ms De Kort 😝

Thanks, but we’ll judge for ourselves. Tastes differ. To suggest that people who don’t agree with you have issues is frankly quite rude. I’m sure Explora is super nice, but ultimately it’s about how much you pay vs. precisely how nice - in relation to the competition.

Couldn’t agree more. I’m really hoping that we’ll fall in love with Explora the next 2 weeks, but am struggling to find anything interesting in their future itineraries. I’m hoping that this will resolve itself when ships 3-6 launch.

Interesting post and another area in which it shouldn’t be difficult to make improvements. Seabourn and Silversea do serve course by course in your suite (if you ask). We dine in our suite about once each cruise and really don’t think tomato soup and ice cream should come together 🙂

You must have been out and about super early? It was bright and sunny yesterday! We’re joining you on Explora 1 on Friday.

I’ll believe it when I see it. The lunch situation needs a more drastic solution.

A few more bad turns in the Middle East and they’ll end up cancelling the recently announced 17 Middle East cruises and redeploying the ship for a third time. Sales will quadruple!

Yes, the whole travel industry is booked again on the 3 November cruise. Must have been rock bottom interliner rates.